Thinking about turfgrass

Just a week or two ago it looked like it was still winter. But folks who knew that they wanted to plant grass seed this spring were already out doing their homework and shopping. In what seems like another two minutes, it will be late spring and the possibility of summer drought will be upon us.

Around here, It’s better to plant grass seed in early fall. Spring-sown lawns may take a bit more work in the long run because more weed seeds are likely to germinate in spring than in fall, therefore more weed control might be necessary. Your chances of failure may be a little higher because of the possibility of drought damage to young, barely-established susceptible grass. Summer heat and humidity also makes it more likely that your new lawn will succumb to disease. And the later you plant in the spring, the better your chances of failure.

Still, sometimes there are good reasons to renovate or even to establish turfgrass in spring. Maybe you simply couldn’t do it last fall for one reason or another. Maybe you didn’t even live there yet! So now you want to get something established on those bare patches of ground.

Don’t waste time. Get that soil sample collected and in the mail. Earlier in spring is better. Chances are, if you follow instructions and have a bit of luck, you will succeed. If it doesn’t work out, a lot of the preliminary work is already done and all you’ve lost is some time and grass seed. Try again in the fall.

Here are some fact sheets, in case you hadn’t finished that homework yet:

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about this blog

Master Gardeners are volunteers trained by Penn State Extension Horticulture Educators. Once they complete their training, they cooperate with service agencies and community groups on a wide range of gardening projects. Their talents and energies are directed toward providing a link between their community and Penn State Cooperative Extension and Outreach.